Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict
1920–21 political and military conflict in southern Ukraine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict was a period of political and military conflict between the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Makhnovshchina, for control over southern Ukraine. The Bolsheviks aimed to eliminate the Makhnovshchina and neutralise its peasant base. In turn, the Makhnovists fought against the implementation of the Red Terror and the policy of war communism.
Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict | |||||||
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Part of the Ukrainian War of Independence | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Russian SFSR Ukrainian SSR | Makhnovshchina | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Mikhail Frunze (WIA) Lev Kamenev Semyon Budyonny Semyon Timoshenko Marcian Germanovich Alexander Parkhomenko [ru] † Vladimir Nesterovich [ru] Vitaly Primakov Grigory Kotovsky Konstantin Avksentevsky Roberts Eidemanis Vasily Blyukher Nikita Khrushchev |
Nestor Makhno (WIA) Viktor Bilash (POW) Fedir Shchus † Foma Kozhyn † Vasyl Kurylenko † Mykhailo Brova † Grigori Maslakov † Semen Karetnyk Dmitry Popov Vasyl Sharovsky | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
150,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1.5 million deaths (including 300,000 Makhnovists)[1] |
The conflict broke out after the Red Army returned to Ukraine in early 1920, following the defeat of the White advance on Moscow. It attacked the Makhnovshchina, which at the time occupied most of southern Ukraine, and carried out a sustained attempt to pacify the region. After a brief truce, in order to ensure the final defeat of the White movement, the Red Army again attacked the Makhnovshchina in November 1920, leading to a resumption of hostilities.
The conflict mainly consisted of guerrilla warfare, without conventional maneuvers or open battles. It was also highly mobile, with territory regularly changing hands between the two. The Bolsheviks largely maintained territorial control, while the Makhnovists were kept on the defensive. In this condition, the Makhnovists were not able to carry out offensives, instead mostly attacking isolated Red units.
Following the implementation of the New Economic Policy and the onset of fatigue due to the conditions of the war, support for the Makhnovist insurrection began to dwindle. Despite efforts by the Makhnovists to reorganise and carry out larger offensives, by August 1921, the Makhnovshchina had effectively been wiped out. Its core around Nestor Makhno fled into exile, while a low-level insurgency persisted throughout the 1920s.